Support for fireplace screen



Oct. 30, 1962 M- L- NEWBURY SUPPORT FOR FIREPLACE SCREEN Filed April 6,1959 0' 4 J gvvv 1 e i as ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,061,004SUPPORT FOR FIREPLACE SCREEN Max L. Newbury, Los Angeles, Calif.,assignor to Edward Strasser, Los Angeles, Calif. Filed Apr. 6, 1959,Ser. No. 804,457 6 Claims. (Cl. 160126) This invention rel-ates to meansto support a screen across a fireplace opening and, more particularly,relates to means to engage the wall structure of a fireplace opening tosupport the upper edge of a metal screen curtain.

A support structure for this purpose has been devised heretofore that isequipped with a plurality of screws at each end for supportingengagement with opposite wall surfaces of a fireplace well inside thefireplace opening. The screws may have pointed ends for at least slightpenetration of the wall surfaces. Such screws are not convenientlyaccessible and especially so since tools must be used and the screws ateach end are relatively close together to make the use of tools awkward.Another disadvantage is that the screws are offset by substantialdistances from the screen curtain and must be tightened excessively towithstand the turning moment imposed on the support tructure by theweight of the metal screen curtain. Because of these disadvantages, suchsupport structures are customarily installed only by skilled craftsmen.

The broad object of the present invention is to provide a supportstructure for a fireplace screen curtain that may be installed quicklyand easily by an unskilled person and therefore may be installed by theaverage householder. A special feature of the invention is that it maybe installed without the use of tools and without the necessity ofreaching far into the fireplace in the course of the installationprocedure.

In general this broad object is attained by making a support structurein separate relatively adjustable sections for variation in overalllength and by providing manual means operable between sections. Thesupport structure may be contracted to fit into a fireplace opening andmay then be manually expanded into supporting pressure engagement withthe opposite side surfaces of the fireplace opening.

The initial embodiment of the invention is further characterized by theincorporation of spring means effective between the relatively movablesections to exert continuous expansion pressure for maintainingeffective engagement with the wall surfaces.

In the preferred practice of the invention, the means for operativelyinterconnecting sections of the support structure for expansion of theover-all length comprises a pair of toggle links. A suitable handle iunited with one of the toggle links for the expansion operation and ismovable to a normal inconspicuous position. The toggle links expand to apast center position to make the links irreversible in response to thestresses engendered by their expansion. One of the links is a bowedspring member for maintaining the required expansion pressure.

The initial embodiment of the invention is further characterized by theprovision at the opposite ends of the support structure of pressuresurfaces of sufiicient area to avoid marring or damaging the sidesurfaces of the fireplace opening. In this regard, an important featureis the further concept of providing what may be termed pressure shoesfor contact with the side wall surfaces which pressure shoes are pivotedto conform to irregularities and misalignments of the wall surface.

A further object of the inventionis to provide adjustability withrespect to the alignment of the screen curtain relative to the supportstructure. The screen curtain comprises two sections which may be drawnapart for access to the fireplace and the support structure provides twocorresponding pairs of rods on which the upper edges 3,061,004 PatentedOct. 30, 1962 ICC of the curtain sections are slidingly supported. Theserods are carried by brackets which are adjustable relative to thesupport structure so that if it is necessary for any reason to installthe support structure in a position slightly out of horizontal, thebrackets may be adjusted for compensation to hold the upper edges of thecurtain sections horizontal.

The features and advantages of the invention may be understood from thefollowing detailed description together with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, which is to be regarded as merely illustrative:

FIG. 1 is a rear elevation of the presently preferred embodiment of theinvention showing the support structure installed across the upper partof a fireplace opening in engagement with the wall surfaces at theopposite sides of the opening;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are transverse sections taken as indicatedrespectively by the lines 33, 4-4, 5-5 and 66 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end of the supportstructure;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the other end of the supportstructure showing the toggle linkage in its contracted or releasedposition; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged portion of FIG. 8 with parts broken away to showhow a pivoted pressure shoe is incorporated in the structure.

The principal parts of the support structure shown in the drawinginclude: a channel member that is generally designated by the letter C;an extension member that is generally designated by the letter E; atoggle linkage comprising a manually operable lever 10 and a bowedspring link member 12; a pivoted pressure shoe 14 on the outer end ofthe extension member E; a second pivoted pressure shoe on the oppositeend of the channel member C; a pair of curtain-supporting rods extendingin overlapping relationship comprising a first rod .16 and a second rod18; a first bracket means, generally designated 20, that is mounted onthe extension member E to support one end of the first rod 16; a secondbracket means, generally designated 22., that is mounted on the oppositeend of the channel member C to support one end of the second rod 18; anda third bracket means, generally designated 24, that is mounted at anintermediate position on the channel member C to slidingly support thesecond end of the first rod 16 and the second end of the second rod *18.

As shown in cross section in FIG. 5, the channel member C is a sheetmetal member having two longitudinal flanges 25 to form a longitudinalchannel, the two flanges 25 being bent inward to overhang the channelfor the purpose of retaining any member of complementary configurationthat is seated therein. Preferably the channel member C is adjustable inlength and for this purpose is made in two pieces that are held togetherby a splice member 26 shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5. As may be seen in FIG.5, the splice member 26 is a sheet metal member of a configuration tofit slidingly in the channel of the channel member C, the splice memberhaving a pair of longitudinal flanges 28 that slidingly nest into theflanges 25 of the channel member C.

For the purpose of adjustment, the two longitudinal sections of thechannel member C that are interconnected by the splice member 26 areformed with longitudinal slots 30 as best shown in FIG. 1. A pair ofscrews 32 equipped with nuts 34 extend through the two slots 30,respectively, and extend through corresponding flanged apertures in thesplice member 26 in the manner shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 also shows howthe web of the splice member 26 may be ofiset outward from the web ofthe channel member C for resilient opposition to tightening of the twoscrews 32 to make the structure rigid and to prevent loosening of thescrews. It is apparent that this arrangement makes it possible to loosenthe two screws 32 temporarily for the purpose of adjusting the effectivelength of the channel member C.

The extension member E, which is shown in FIGS. 1, 8 and 9, is arelatively short sheet metal member that is of the same cross-sectionalconfiguration as the previously described splice member 26 and isslidingly mounted in the same manner in the channel formed by thechannel member C. The previously mentioned pressure shoe 14 is mountedbetween the web of the extension member E and the web of the channelmember C and is pivotally connected to the extension member by means ofa screw 36.

The previously mentioned manually operable lever .10 is pivotallyconnected to the extension member E by a second screw 38. The lever ismade of heavy sheet metal and is formed with a slight outward offset 40as best shown in FIG. 2 to clear the lower flange 25 of the channelmember C.

The link member 112 is made of heavy spring wire and is pivotallyconnected to the lever 10 by having a bent end portion 42 that isjournaled in a corresponding aperture in the lever. The other end of thespring link member 12 has a similar bent end portion 43 that extendsoutward through a corresponding aperture in a sheet metal plate 44 thatis anchored in the channel of the channel member C. The sheet metalplate 44 is of the same flanged cross-sectional configuration as thepreviously described splice member 26 and nests into the channel memberC in the same manner but is fixedly anchored in place. For this purpose,the upper flange 25 of the channel member C may be lanced and crirnpedinward to provide a pair of shoulders 45 to confine the sheet metalplate 44 as shown in FIG. 8. It is apparent that this arrangementprovides a pair of interconnected force-multiplying toggle links, onelink of the pair being the wire spring member 12 and the other linkbeing the portion of the lever 10 between the screw 38 and the bent endportion 42 of the spring wire member.

In the contracted position of the toggle linkage shown in FIG. 8, thepressure shoe 1-4 is retracted into the end of the channel member C. Inthe fully expanded position of the toggle linkage shown in FIG. 1, thepressure shoe 14 is extended well beyond the end of the channel member Cand is locked in position by virtue of the fact that the toggle linkagemoves past center when it is expended. Thus, in the movement of thelever from the position shown in FIG. 8 to the normal inconspicuousposition shown in FIG. 1, the pivot comprising the bent end portion 42of the spring wire 12 crosses a straight line that is defined by theaxis of the screw 38 and the axis of the second bent end 43 of thespring wire .12. At this past center position of the toggle linkage, alower edge 46 of the extension member that may be seen in FIG. 8 servesas a stop for abutment by the bent end 42 of the spring wire link 12,this stop preventing collapse of the toggle linkage.

The first bracket means that is mounted on the extension member E is anangular sheet metal member that is anchored to the extension member bythe previously mentioned pair of screws 36 and 38. The bracket means 20is adjustable and for this purpose is formed with a pair of verticalslots 48 to receive the two screws. The sheet metal bracket means 20 hasa horizontal flange 50 at its upper edge and this flange is formed witha second downwardly extending flange 52.

The second bracket means 22 which is fixedly mounted on the opposite endof the channel member C is of the construction shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4and 7. This construction comprises a sheet metal base member 54 which 4is of the same flanged cross-sectional configuration as the previouslydescribed sheet metal plate 44 and which is confined in the channel ofthe channel member C in the same manner. In this instance, the lowerflange 25 of the channel member C is lanced and crirnped to provide apair of shoulders 55 for confining the sheet metal base member 54against longitudinal shift. The previously mentioned pressure shoe 15 ismounted between the web of the base member 54 and the web of the channelmember C and is pivotally connected to the base member by a screw 56.

The construction of the second bracket means 22 further includes anangular sheet metal bracket member 57 that is mounted on the base member54 by the screw 56 and a second screw 58. The bracket member 57 isadjustable on the base member 54 and for this purpose is formed with apair of slots 60 to receive the screws 56 and 58 as best shown in FIG.7. The bracket member 57 is formed with a horizontal flange 62 at itsupper edge and this flange is formed with a second downwardly extendingend flange 64.

The third intermediate bracket means 24 comprises a sheet metal basemember 65 and a sheet metal bracket member 66 mounted thereon. The sheetmetal bracket member 66 is mounted in an adjustable manner by a pair ofscrews 68 which extend through corresponding slots 70 in the bracketmember. The sheet metal base member 65 on which the bracket member 66 ismounted is of the same cross-sectional configuration as the base member54 of the bracket means 22 as may be seen in FIG. 6. The bracket member66 has a horizontal flange 72 at its upper edge and this horizontalflange in turn is formed with two opposite downwardly extending flanges74 and 75 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 6, these two flanges 74and 75 are offset from each other.

The two curtain-supporting rods 16 and 18 are mounted on the threebracket means 20, 22 and 24. The outer end of the rod 16 is attached tothe flange 52 of the first bracket means 20 and the outer end of thesecond rod 18 is mounted in the flange 64 of the second bracket means22. In both of these instances the end of the rod is secured by means ofan aperture in the flange that is of the configuration shown in FIG. 7.The aperture 76 in FIG. 7 is dimensioned to receive the end of the rod18 and is formed with a downwardly extending narrowed slot 78. The endof the rod 18 is slotted by a milling cutter or hacksaw on its oppositesides to drop down into the slot 78 into positive engagement with theedges of the slot as may be understood by reference to FIG. 3. The endof the rod 16 is removably engaged with the downwardly extending flange52 of the first bracket means 20 in the same manner.

The second end of the rod 16 is slidingly mounted in the downwardlyextending flange 74 of the third intermediate bracket means 24 and inlike manner the second end of the rod 18 is slidingly mounted in thedownwardly extending flange 75 of the third bracket means. In theconstruction shown, the ends of the two rods 16 and 18 slidingly extendthrough corresponding apertures in the two flanges 74 and '75respectively, the apertures being formed with flanges 80.

The sliding engagement of the rod 18 with the third intermediate bracketmeans 24 permits adjustment in length of the channel member C. Thesliding engagement of the rod 16 with the flange 74 of the thirdintermediate bracket means avoids interference with extension andretraction of the extension member E.

As indicated in phantom in FIG. 1, sections of screen curtain 82 are'slidingly mounted 'by their upper edges on the rods 16 and 18. Thesescreen curtain sections are manually controllable by means of a chain 84that is shown in phantom. In a well known manner, the two ends of thechain 84 hang downward and are provided with corresponding weights 85that serve as handles whereby the two screen curtain sections may beretracted to opposite sides of the fireplace opening when desired foraccess to the fireplace.

The upper flange 62 of the second bracket means 22 is lanced and offsetto form three downwardly extending sheet metal loops 86 as shown inFIGS. 1, 2, 7 and 8, these sheet metal loops serving as suitable guidesfor the chain 84. The chain 84 is looped around a small pulley 88 thatis mounted on the underside of the flange 50 of the first bracket means20 as may be seen in FIGS. 1 and 8.

The manner in which the invention serves its purpose may be readilyunderstood from the foregoing description. The range of expansion andcontraction of the support structure that is provided by the extensionmember E under control of the toggle linkage may be, for example, of aninch without stressing the spring link member 12 in flexure. The springmember .12 should be subject to bending stress, however, to cause thetwo pressure shoes 14- and 15 to exert adequate pressure against theopposite wall surfaces 90 of the fireplace opening. Therefore, thecontracted over-all length of the channel member C together with theextension member E should be shorter than the width of the fireplaceopening by less than /8 of an inch. For example, if the contractedlength of the support structure is inch less than the width of thefireplace opening, the spring link member 12 will be bowed accordinglyto contract /8 of an inch. It is apparent that such an arrangementprovides substantial tolerance since the spring link member 12 may bebowed to various degrees.

It is a simple matter to loosen the two screws 32 for the purpose ofadjusting the efiective length of the channel member C so that thecontracted over-all length of the support structure will be such thatthe spring link member will be bowed under flexural stress when thetoggle linkage is expanded. With the channel member C adjusted to thedesired length, the screws 32 are retightened to anchor the two sectionsof the channel member to the splice member 26.

The installation operation consists simply of placing the describedsupport structure across the upper portion of the fireplace opening inthe position shown in FIG. 1 and then swinging the handle from theposition shown in FIG. 8 to the inconspicuous position shown in FIG. 1.The back side of the channel member C faces forward and may be providedwith suitable support brackets (not shown) to receive an ornamental trimmember (not shown) to extend across the upper portion of the fireplaceopening and conceal the support structure.

Once the support structure is mounted in this manner, it is a simplematter to adjust any of the three bracket means 20, 22 and 24 as may bedesired to make the two curtain-supporting rods 16 and 18 substantiallyhorizontal. It is sometimes necessary to position the support structureslightly out of horizontal because of some minor obstacle. It is to benoted, however, that since the two pressure shoes 14 and 15 are pivoted,they readily accommodate themselves to any irregularities ormisalignments of the opposite wall surfaces 90.

The whole support structure may be quickly removed by simply swingingthe lever 10 from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown inFIG. 8. A feature of the invention is that this lever is readilyaccessible so that it is not necessary for the operator to reach intothe fireplace proper. It is a convenient matter to remove the supportstructure whenever desired for the purpose of cleaning or replacing thescreen curtain section. -It is to be noted that the two rods 16 and 18are removable for this purpose.

My description in specific detail of the selected embodiment of theinvention 'will suggest various changes, substitutions and otherdepartures from my disclosure within the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. Means for hanging a pair of curtains across an opening in a wall,comprising: a support structure for engagement with said wall to spansaid opening, said support structure being made in a plurality ofseparate sections in sliding engagement with each other for relativelongitudinal movement to expand and contract the over-all length of thesupport structure; two disconnected curtain rods for said curtainsrespectively, said rods being laterally spaced from each other andoverlapping in length at their inner ends; two brackets on the oppositeends of said support structure in supporting engagement with the outerends of said two rods respectively; and intermediate bracket meanscentrally mounted on said support structure to support the inner ends ofthe two rods from the support structure, said intermediate bracket meansslidably engaging the inner ends of the two overlapping rods to permitlongitudinal movement of the two rods relative to the intermediatebracket means when the support structure is expanded or contracted.

2. Means for hanging a pair of curtains across an opening in a wall,comprising: a support structure for engagement with said wall to spansaid opening, said support structure being made in a plurality ofseparate sections in sliding engagement with each other for relativelongitudinal movement to expand and contract the overall length of thesupport structure; two disconnected rods for said curtains respectively,said rods being laterally spaced from each other and overlapping inlength at their inner ends; two brackets on the opposite ends of saidsupport structure in supporting engagement with the outer ends of saidtwo rods respectively; intermediate bracket means centrally mounted onsaid support structure to support the inner ends of the two rods fromthe support structure, said intermediate bracket means slidably engagingthe inner ends of the two overlapping rods to permit longitudinalmovement of the two rods relative to the intermediate bracket means whenthe support structure is expanded or contracted; and means to vary theelevation of the ends of said two rods relative to said supportstructure for leveling of said curtains when the support structure isout of level.

3. Means for hanging a pair of curtains across an opening in a wall,comprising: a support structure for engagement with said wall to spansaid opening, said support structure being made in a plurality ofseparate sections in sliding engagement with each other for relativelongitudinal movement to expand and contract the overall length of thesupport structure; two disconnected curtain rods for said curtainsrespectively, said rods being laterally spaced from each other andoverlapping in length at their inner ends; two brackets on the oppositeends of said support structure in supporting engagement with the outerends of said two rods respectively; intermediately bracket meanscentrally mounted on said support structure to support the inner ends ofthe two rods from the support structure, said intermediate bracket meansslidably engaging the inner ends of the two overlapping rods to permitlongitudinal movement of the two rods relative to the intermediatebracket means when the support structure is expanded or contracted;means to vary the elevation of the ends of said curtain rods relative tosaid support structure; and means to vary the elevation of saidintermediate bracket means relative to the support structure forleveling of said curtains when the support structure is out of level.

4. Means for hanging a pair of curtains across an opening in a wall,comprising: a support structure to span said opening, said supportstructure being made in a plurality of separate sections in slidingengagement with each other for relative longitudinal movement forexpansion of the support structure into engagement with said wall atopposite sides of the opening in the wall; a first toggle link pivotallyconnected at one of its ends to one of said sections of the supportstructure; and a second toggle link pivotally connected at one of itsends to a second section of the support structure, the second end of thefirst toggle link being connected to an intermediate point of saidsecond link, the distance of said intermediate point from said one endof the second link being a minor por tion of the length of the secondlink with the major portion of the length of the second link serving asa handle for operating the two toggle links with a leverage advantage,said first toggle link being a bowed resilient member to be resilientlystressed in flexure when the two toggle links are extended thereby totend to resiliently ex pand the support structure.

5. A combination as set forth in claim 4 in which said two toggle linksare dimensioned to be expanded past center by said handle; and whichincludes stop means to limit the expansion of the two toggle links atpast center positions.

6. Means for hanging a curtain across an opening in a wall, comprising:a support structure to span said opening, said support structure beingmade in a plurality of sections in sliding engagement with each otherfor relative longitudinal movement for expansion of the supportstructure into engagement with said wall at opposite sides of theopening in the wall; and a pair of toggle links interconnecting two ofsaid sections to expand the support structure, one of the toggle linksof said pair being a bowed resilient member for contraction and stressin flexure when the toggle links are expanded and expansion of thesupport structure is resisted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.24,285 Jackson Mar. 12, 1957 1,537,497 Rains May 12, 1925 1,648,903Johnson Nov. 15, 1927 1,756,716 Whitney Apr. 25, 1930 1,817,954Trowbridge Aug. 11, 1931 1,824,385 Wintrob Sept. 22, 1931 2,335,030Rotheraiue Nov. 23, 1943 2,509,521 Pegram May 30, 1950 2,601,489 Babroset al June 24, 1952 2,928,146 Kuniholm Mar. 15, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS207,329 Switzerland Jan. 16, 1940 1,075,093 France Apr. 7, 1954

